November 04, 2015

New leadership team set

New provost, CFO will take the reins in 2016

President and CEO Joel Seligman (right) has announced the appointments for two top positions at the University: Rob Clark as provost and Holly Crawford as senior vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer.

Listening tour on the horizon for new provost Rob Clark

Rob Clark, senior vice president for research and dean of the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, has been named the University’s 10th provost. Clark’s five-year term as provost begins on July 1, 2016.

Clark succeeds Peter Lennie, who will step down as provost in June 2016. Clark will serve in dual roles as provost and senior vice president for research. In 2013, he was named senior vice president for research and since then has served both in this role and as Hajim School dean, a position he has held for the past seven years. He will be stepping down as Hajim School dean.

“Serving as the 10th provost at the University of Rochester is both an honor and a privilege. Every domain of this institution embodies our motto, Meliora, and each day I walk across this campus, I join students, faculty, and staff in pursuit of making the University better today than the day before,” Clark says. “I have nearly nine months to spend with many University constituents and our current provost, Peter Lennie, to plan for this transition. During this time, I look forward to learning from our University community what I can do to further enable our mission and advance the momentum and trajectory of this great institution.”

In preparation for his new responsibilities, Clark says he plans to conduct a listening tour with members of the University community.

President and CEO Joel Seligman says Clark’s service to the University has been “exemplary.”

“During the past seven years under Rob’s leadership, the Hajim School has more than doubled undergraduate enrollment while increasing the size of the faculty and significantly increasing the number of students enrolled in master’s programs,” Seligman says. “At the start of Rob’s time as dean, the Hajim School assumed responsibility for computer science. In 2014, Rettner Hall became operational, including a new fabrication facility, computer labs and audio and video recording studios. Wegmans Hall, which will house the Goergen Institute for Data Science, is now under construction and will be dedicated in October 2016.”

“I know I speak for the entire board in saying that Rob Clark is enthusiastically endorsed to be the University’s next provost,” Hajim says. “He has long experience in building and bolstering academic and research programs, and he is a very distinguished teacher and researcher, as well. As Hajim School dean, Rob has done an unbelievable job, significantly strengthening the academic quality of the school in a number of strategic areas and thus increasing both the number and quality of students coming to study at Rochester. All of these attributes and successes translate extremely well into becoming the University’s next chief academic officer.”

As provost, Clark will assume responsibility for advancing the University’s academic, teaching, and global engagement missions in addition to accelerating the University’s progress as an internationally distinguished research institution. The provost additionally provides leadership to select units of the University, including Information Technology, River Campus Libraries, the Memorial Art Gallery, the University of Rochester Press, and the University Health Service.

Clark was named interim senior vice president for research in 2012 and accepted the permanent role a year later.

As senior vice president for research, Clark has orchestrated a comprehensive review of information technology, supervised efforts to pilot online programs, and helped secure $5 million of support for the HSCCI through the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. He was instrumental in bringing to the University the Visualization-Innovation-Science-Technology-Application (VISTA) Collaboratory lab, with support from New York State and IBM. The VISTA lab is part of the HSCCI and is a critical asset in the University’s infrastructure for becoming a leader in the field of data science.

Most recently, Clark has been recognized for his critical role in Rochester becoming the headquarters for the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics), a consortium of universities, companies, and federal agencies joined together for the development of optics-based manufacturing technologies. Rochester was selected to receive the designation and $600 million in federal and state funding based on a winning proposal submitted to the Department of Defense; Clark served as lead coordinator for the University team that created that proposal. He also manages the University’s leadership role with AIM Photonics and now serves as chairman of the nonprofit institute’s board of directors.

As Hajim School dean since 2008, Clark has grown and strengthened the faculty and introduced crossdisciplinary master’s programs, including the MS in technical entrepreneurship and management in collaboration with the Simon Business School. He also established a Center for Medical Technology Innovation jointly with the School of Medicine and Dentistry with an MS program in biomedical engineering that provides two months of clinical experience for students.

Clark joined the University in 2008 from Duke University, after serving as senior associate dean and dean of the Pratt School of Engineering. His expertise in the science of acoustics and in bionanomanufacturing has led to 130 journal publications and earned him numerous awards. He holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Holly Crawford to serve as senior VP, CFO, and treasurer

Holly Crawford has been named senior vice president for administration and finance, chief financial officer, and treasurer. She will begin in the roles on January 15, 2016. Crawford succeeds Ronald Paprocki, who announced his intent to retire after more than 45 years at the University.

Crawford, who is the senior associate vice president for budgets and planning and who has served as deputy to the senior vice president and CFO for eight years, was selected after a national search. She will lead the Administration and Finance team, which includes finance, budget, audit, campus planning and design, facilities, purchasing, auxiliary services, human resources, public safety, and environmental health and safety.

In announcing Crawford’s appointment, President and CEO Joel Seligman remarked, “Holly was the stand-out candidate in terms of already having had experience at both the technical and strategic levels in all administration and finance areas and having a proven track record of success in implementing University initiatives. She has strong relationships with administrative and financial colleagues across the institution, with divisional leaders, and with outside partners, including investment bankers and rating agencies. She will hit the ground running. She starts with a nuanced and complete understanding of our University.”

Board of Trustees Chair Ed Hajim ’58 concurred: “Holly Crawford has an outstanding record of service at the University. The board was impressed by her accomplishments to date and her vision going forward. We are looking forward to working with her even more closely in her new role.”

Trustees Advisory Committee Chair John Davidson adds, “We are very fortunate that after an extensive national search, our next CFO, Holly Crawford, comes from right here at the University of Rochester. Holly is an exceptional finance executive and leader who has delivered outstanding contributions to the University. Her broad experience at the University and in other industries positions her well to carry on and build on the outstanding foundation Ron built over 45 years.”

As senior associate vice president for budgets and planning, Crawford is responsible for the stewardship and management of the University’s multibillion dollar operating budget, capital budgets, and five-year financial plans. She is currently leading the planning for the implementation of a budget development and financial planning information system as the second phase of the financial systems transition to the Workday financial system. As deputy to the senior vice president and CFO, she is the principal advisor on all financial, planning, facilities, and administrative matters and often serves as representative for campus emergencies and on key initiatives.

Crawford joined the University in 1998 as director of University audit and conducted the first University-wide risk assessment, as well as developed a construction auditing program, which today continues to reduce costs to the University’s facilities projects.

In 2000, Paprocki asked her to step in as budget director and assume responsibility for working with department managers, deans, and financial officers from throughout the University to establish annual operating and capital budgets. During that time, Crawford also worked to facilitate strategic planning among key administrative functions with an emphasis on improving human resource policies and practices, communications, policies and procedures, IT, risk assessment, and business case development.

In 2004, she was named associate vice president for budgets and planning, and in 2014 was promoted to senior associate vice president.

In June 2007, she became deputy to the senior vice president and CFO and led several major capital project business plans, including the Primary Data Center, University Health Services building, and Eastman Theatre renovation. She also coordinated University efforts during the development and 2014 opening of the Brooks Crossing residence hall.

“Holly has been my trusted deputy for almost a decade, and a close colleague before that,” says Paprocki. “Her knowledge of the University, her integrity, and her commitment to professional excellence are without peer, and I am delighted to know that she will continue to serve the University in an exemplary fashion.”

Additionally, Crawford had a major role in the development of College Town, the transformational $100 million mixed-use project on 14 acres of University property in the city of Rochester’s Mt. Hope corridor.

“I am delighted by this opportunity to serve the University at an even higher level, and grateful to President Seligman and the Board of Trustees for their confidence in me,” says Crawford. “I would also like to acknowledge the guidance and support Ron Paprocki has provided to me over the years. He has provided me with many opportunities and has been a great mentor.”

Crawford earned her MBA from Simon Business School and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Long Island University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor. Before joining the University, she held accounting and audit positions at organizations including Bausch & Lomb, ACC Corporation, and Arthur Andersen LLP.The national search committee for the senior vice president and CFO position was chaired by Seligman and included

Located on the ground floor of Rush Rhees Library, the iZone will include collaborative workspaces, consultation and team rooms, exhibition areas, and computer workstations where students from all disciplines can meet with like-minded peers.

The awards, which are named for and sponsored by alumnus, trustee, and former board chairman Robert Goergen ’60 and his wife, Pamela, recognize faculty members who have made substantial contributions to the undergraduate experience at Rochester.